Spoke to my Service Manager today. I'm taking it in Thursday to show them the videos of the tick and let them look at it. I asked if I could take the car back home with me while I await approval of the PUMA case and for the cylinder head to arrive, he said that was ok.

Honestly, I'm extremely nervous about this. My tick is extremely rare, but I really wanted to get this taken care of before I have to pay $50 a visit with CPO. Hope this doesn't open a can of worms.

its 5 grand in parts 2 to 3 grand in labor. Its not a cheap thing to just pull out of my pocket for car worth 13 to 14K on a good day

i'm out of warranty and BMW has given the big finger to all who are out of warranty even tho they know its their fault

i hate BMW for this but i love the car.

I'm sure he asked because you made it seem as if it was your decision to not have the head replaced. Maybe you can talk to BMWNA and ask them to do a good will repair as they know this is a problem and the lifters didn't do it for you.

Spoke to my Service Manager today. I'm taking it in Thursday to show them the videos of the tick and let them look at it. I asked if I could take the car back home with me while I await approval of the PUMA case and for the cylinder head to arrive, he said that was ok.

Honestly, I'm extremely nervous about this. My tick is extremely rare, but I really wanted to get this taken care of before I have to pay $50 a visit with CPO. Hope this doesn't open a can of worms.

I'm really curious as to why the variability in how frequent the tick happens. I've read that people say changing the lifter fixes their ticks and for other people, it doesn't make a difference. I just had my lifters changed but just the other night, when I was about to go out for a midnight drive, the car was ticking again. Weird. Time to go back to the shop.

I'm really curious as to why the variability in how frequent the tick happens. I've read that people say changing the lifter fixes their ticks and for other people, it doesn't make a difference. I just had my lifters changed but just the other night, when I was about to go out for a midnight drive, the car was ticking again. Weird. Time to go back to the shop.

The lifters are a band aid and they know it, it's just a waste of time. My case was different though. My cars been quiet for quite a while after the lifters. Others it's non stop even with new lifters.

I'm aware of this issue like most E90 owners on this post and had the dealer replace the lifters at about 33000 miles. The ticking was never loud but present intermittently. Now with the lifters replaced I almost never hear the tick--almost. So a few times a year I do hear it for a couple of minutes and then it goes away. BTW my 2006 330i runs great and I have no other concerns related to the performance of this car. So do I push the dealer to replace the head? I'm not certain without knowing real damage is occurring. Pictures of worn parts would help convince me. It just kills me to have someone take the engine apart again. Fix this but now something else is not right.
I plan to keep this car for years but it is a second car and doesn't get many miles each year. Are there many e90 330 owners out there who maybe did what I had done (replace the lifters) many mile ago and all is well today? Meaning can the engine last without replacing the head?

I'm aware of this issue like most E90 owners on this post and had the dealer replace the lifters at about 33000 miles. The ticking was never loud but present intermittently. Now with the lifters replaced I almost never hear the tick--almost. So a few times a year I do hear it for a couple of minutes and then it goes away. BTW my 2006 330i runs great and I have no other concerns related to the performance of this car. So do I push the dealer to replace the head? I'm not certain without knowing real damage is occurring. Pictures of worn parts would help convince me. It just kills me to have someone take the engine apart again. Fix this but now something else is not right.
I plan to keep this car for years but it is a second car and doesn't get many miles each year. Are there many e90 330 owners out there who maybe did what I had done (replace the lifters) many mile ago and all is well today? Meaning can the engine last without replacing the head?

I'm in the same boat as you. After the lifters it barely happens. I'm still getting it done though because eventually it will need it.

... anyone else go in recently to have their lifters and rollers replaced again? apparently BMW redesigned those two parts to actually solve the problem.. I'm thinking it's smart on their end (if it indeed resolves the issue) to prevent the much more expensive head job

SITUATION
An occasional ticking or rattling noise from the HVA elements may occur during cold engine starts or frequent short-distance driving.

CAUSE
In these situations, the HVA elements may not yet have been supplied with sufficient amounts of air-free oil. This condition will not cause any damage to the engine, and usually remedies itself with a longer driving distance or operating times at full operating temperature.

CORRECTION
In the event of a customer complaint, please perform the following the HVA bleeding procedure.

PROCEDURE
Important notes:

The bleed time may take anywhere from between two minutes and (in rare cases) to a maximum of 30 minutes. This procedure is to be performed on a level surface with the vehicle stationary, and in a properly ventilated area.

Procedure preconditions:

Engine oil level correct - neither underfilled nor overfilled

Engine running at operating temperature

Bring the engine up to an operating speed (no load) of 2000-3000 rpm and maintain this condition for three minutes (bleeding procedure).

Let the engine idle for 15-30 seconds and reevaluate whether the noise is still present or not.

Engine quiet - procedure is finished.

Engine noise is still present - repeat the procedure; perform steps #1 and #2 up to a maximum of 5 times.

Only if the noise remains after performing the bleeding procedure 5 times: proceed by performing the procedure for a final time, also at an engine operating speed of 2000-3000 rpm, but for a total time duration of 15 minutes.

I went in yesterday to begin process on replacing head. Before I went I spoke to manager I asked if I can come in, get the process rolling for the new head (PUMA case and such), take my car home, and only return when the approval and parts are in. He agreed. When I got there, it was a different story. Now he said that depending on my VIN I might get updated lifters BEFORE the head and I'd have to leave my car there, and so on. NO, stop delaying the head replacement. That is the ultimate real fix. I got a little frustrated and left without leaving the car.

I'll return when the tick really begins to annoy me, as the lifter replacement (1/2011) has really patched it very well.

I guess you can do that when you have CPO until 2014. I'll DEFINITELY get the head replaced by then.

SITUATION
An occasional ticking or rattling noise from the HVA elements may occur during cold engine starts or frequent short-distance driving.

CAUSE
In these situations, the HVA elements may not yet have been supplied with sufficient amounts of air-free oil. This condition will not cause any damage to the engine, and usually remedies itself with a longer driving distance or operating times at full operating temperature.

CORRECTION
In the event of a customer complaint, please perform the following the HVA bleeding procedure.

PROCEDURE
Important notes:

The bleed time may take anywhere from between two minutes and (in rare cases) to a maximum of 30 minutes. This procedure is to be performed on a level surface with the vehicle stationary, and in a properly ventilated area.

Procedure preconditions:

Engine oil level correct - neither underfilled nor overfilled

Engine running at operating temperature

Bring the engine up to an operating speed (no load) of 2000-3000 rpm and maintain this condition for three minutes (bleeding procedure).

Let the engine idle for 15-30 seconds and reevaluate whether the noise is still present or not.

Engine quiet - procedure is finished.

Engine noise is still present - repeat the procedure; perform steps #1 and #2 up to a maximum of 5 times.

Only if the noise remains after performing the bleeding procedure 5 times: proceed by performing the procedure for a final time, also at an engine operating speed of 2000-3000 rpm, but for a total time duration of 15 minutes.

BMW Technician

BMW Master Certifed level 1 Technican

This is the old one. The new service bulletin skips the bleeding process altogether and goes straight to swapping out the lifters.

I went in yesterday to begin process on replacing head. Before I went I spoke to manager I asked if I can come in, get the process rolling for the new head (PUMA case and such), take my car home, and only return when the approval and parts are in. He agreed. When I got there, it was a different story. Now he said that depending on my VIN I might get updated lifters BEFORE the head and I'd have to leave my car there, and so on. NO, stop delaying the head replacement. That is the ultimate real fix. I got a little frustrated and left without leaving the car.

I'll return when the tick really begins to annoy me, as the lifter replacement (1/2011) has really patched it very well.

I guess you can do that when you have CPO until 2014. I'll DEFINITELY get the head replaced by then.

I wouldn't sweat it. The dealer still has to go through the motions of replacing the lifters first as recommended by the service bulletin. I'm sure they won't get reimbursed by BMW NA if they didn't follow procedure. Even the SA I took my car to said they would still have to go through the proper steps before replacing the cylinder head. My lifters have been replaced but I still get the ticking. The car will definitely go back to the dealer for head replacement when the weather clears up.

i browsed the last few pages of this thread, but does anyone have the official most up to date pdf file of the service bulletein for this problem that I can print out and show my dealer incase they dont want to fix it?

nm i found it....but another question regarding warranty, i have another few months on my original warranty, so if i get this fixed according to the service bulletin, will this be on warranty for another 4 years, or is it still over in a few months?...if so what happens a year after i get it replaced and the problem persists?